Commonly, cans, bottles, or other containers for soft drinks or other beverages are marketed in packages comprising four, six, eight, or twelve containers in machine-applied carriers made from single sheets of resilient polymeric material, such as low density polyethylene. The carriers are made, as by die-cutting, so as to have band segments defining container-receiving apertures.
Although such polymeric carriers have many advantages, particularly as compared to predominantly paperboard carriers, such polymeric carriers have some shortcomings. One shortcoming is that such polymeric carriers do not provide expansive surfaces for pricing, barcoding, or other labelling of the packages. Another is that such polymeric carriers do not provide means for separating or stabilizing like packages in a stack.
This invention has resulted from efforts to provide an improved package for cans, bottles, or other containers for soft drinks or other beverages.